The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For retail sale of books of all kinds, that activity is 47611.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
47611 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for retail sale of books of all kinds: a sub-class of class 4761, retail sale of books, newspapers and stationary in specialized stores, within division 47, retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 47Group 476Class 4761Sub-class 47611
Retail sale of books of all kinds
Sub-class 47611 · Class 4761 · Group 476 · Division 47 · Section G, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
476115 digits: 47 + 6 + 1 + 1NIC 2025 · Notice dated 16 October 2026
On 18 November 2025 the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released NIC 2025, which uses 6-digit codes aligned with the UN's ISIC Revision 5. This page shows the NIC 2008 code 47611. The matching NIC 2025 code will be added here once it is mapped from MoSPI's official concordance.
How to read it
An NIC code is built in layers. Each digit narrows the one before it: the division, the group, the class, and finally the 5-digit sub-class. Divisions themselves are grouped under lettered sections.
The broadest numbered layer. Division 47 covers retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. It sits in section G, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialized stores.
Retail sale of books, newspapers and stationary in specialized stores. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Retail sale of books of all kinds. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
47611 is a sub-class of class 4761, retail sale of books, newspapers and stationary in specialized stores. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - retail sale of second-hand or antique books, see 4774
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 47611 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For retail sale of books of all kinds, that activity is 47611.
The company incorporation form asks for the main industrial activity of the proposed company by NIC code.
Not GST. GST registration does not use NIC codes; goods and services there are classified by HSN and SAC codes.
Choosing the right code
47611 is for retail sale of books of all kinds. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 4761. Each has its own page with the official wording.
47612Class 4761 · another sub-class of the same class47613Class 4761 · another sub-class of the same classClass 4761 has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 47611.
Questions
Retail sale of books of all kinds, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 4761, retail sale of books, newspapers and stationary in specialized stores.
Class 4761, retail sale of books, newspapers and stationary in specialized stores, has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 47611, they are: 47612 (Retail sale of newspapers and magazines); 47613 (Retail sale of stationery office supplies such as pens, pencils, paper etc.).
In Udyam Registration, which asks for the business activity by NIC code, and in the SPICe+ company incorporation form, which asks for the main industrial activity by NIC code. GST registration does not use NIC codes.
About this page
The section, division, group, class and sub-class on this page, and the explanatory note for class 4761, are taken word for word from the official document “National Industrial Classification (All Economic Activities) 2008”, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.
This is reference information on the classification of a business activity. It is not advice on which code your own business should declare, and the official NIC document prevails if the two ever differ. A change in the classification, including the MoSPI concordance to NIC 2025, re-opens this page for checking.
Not sure which code fits your activity, or spotted a mismatch? Use the WhatsApp button on this page and tell us what the business sells and how.